Good morning Dinks. You aren’t going to believe the story I’m about to tell you. Remember how I was becoming debt free? Remember how Nick and I were thinking of buying a house? Remember how I was working on improving my credit score from years of bad credit? Well all that went out the window yesterday.
I logged into my online banking to verify my accounts and noticed that there was $14 owing on a credit card that had presumably been paid off (Notice I used presumed and not assume). Since I paid off the balance back in April I haven’t logged into the account since and therefore had no idea I was three months behind on the payment.
Should banks look out for your credit score?
I think the answer is yes. If you have a good credit score you can borrow more money and the more money we borrow the more profit the bank makes. So yes I think banks should always have our credit scores best interest at heart. But that’s just me.
As I’m writing this my mind is scattering all over the place and my head is filling up with anger. So if at any point this story doesn’t make sense let’s just blame it on the rage. Ok let me reiterate the fact that the $14 is the total balance due, not the minimum payment.
Over the last three months my bank (I should say former bank) has been reporting negativity to the credit bureau for $14. How is that fair?
Is it my fault?
Of course I don’t think so. Why didn’t I get a call after the first month telling me that my account was in arrears. When I asked the customer service agent they mentioned that collections calls are a courtesy, not standard procedure. Courtesy. Are they serious? If the bank wants their money and they’re not getting paid doesn’t it seem like common sense to make a quick phone call. But again maybe that’s just me.
I paid off this balance back in April when I received my tax refund. When I called the customer service number to inquire on the total balance owing they gave me an amount and I paid it in full. However it turns out that the amount quoted did not take in account accumulated interest from the last statement date. And there you have it – how I accumulated $14 in interest fees, got three months behind on my credit card payments and ended up ruining my credit score that I spent three years building.
No it’s not my fault.
The other two companies who I was paying off gave me the exact balance due as of the day I called – including interest. For some reason this bank didn’t. They are also not willing to make a correction or contact the credit bureau on my behalf. Why? Well as the agent told me on the phone “But ma’am you were late so we had to report it.” Worst. Service. Ever.
Needless to say I will not be applying for a mortgage with this company. This particular instance just reminds me of why they are my former – not my current – bank.
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
I’m surprised you didn’t get a bill or statement each month. That would have reminded you to either pay the balance or at least call to inquire about it. In the meantime, you should attach a letter of explanation to your credit report so anyone accessing your report will have your side of the story.
Complete Crap. I believe it’s called “residual interest,” and I’m shocked that they didn’t send you a bill in the mail, or an email or some form of communication indicating you had a balance due and on what date it was due. Now, when you apply for that mortgage, you’ll likely have to write some sort of letter to explain why you didn’t pay a stupid $14 bill. One one also think that the algorithm that computes your credit score would take into account the amount that you were behind on. But it doesn’t……being behind on a $14 balance will kill your score the same as if you were delinquent on $50,000.
What a bummer!! I’d definitely be irritated too!
@Kathy – Oh I didn’t know you could do that. Should I contact Equifax?
@Brock – I know, me neither. They said it’s only a courtesy, not standard procedure. Total crap. It sucks the credit bureau won’t know why. I really want to order my report but at this point it’s just going to make me more angry.
@Heather – Oh yes I was beyond annoyed, especially at the customer service agent.